Profiles

Steve Fletcher

Professor of Marine Policy (Research)

School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Biography

Role

I am a Professor of Marine Policy at the University of Plymouth, Chief Strategy Officer and former Head of the Marine Programme at the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in Cambridge, a member of the UN International Resource Panel, and a Visiting Professor at both the UNiversity of Greenwich and the World Maritime University, Sweden.

I am an applied marine policy specialist with 20 years of experience inEuropean and global marine conservation and management. I have substantial experienceof developing strategic approaches to address marine management challenges incomplex organisational and legal contexts. I have extensive professionalexperience of working with senior decision-makers within UN andinter-governmental agencies and I have a global network of contacts.

I have atrack record of securing and leading large international projects focused onthe conservation and management of marine and coastal resources. My research has been widelypublished in the principal sector journals and I have been an invited speakerat numerous national and global events

Teaching

Teaching interests

My teaching interests are in marine and coastal governance, including Marine Spatial Planning, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, marine ecosystem services, and marine policy. I bring my experience of working within the UN system to my teaching and provide insight on how UN system bodies operate and generate enhanced marine givernance outcomes for the ocean.My teaching approach is focused on student-centred learning, in which students are actively engaged in the process of learning through discussions, debates, engagement with external researchers and practitioners, and fieldwork.

Research

Research interests

My key interests are focused upon various aspects of marine and coastal policy. This includes:

Ocean governance and sustainable development goals.

The role of natural capital and ecosysem accounting in ocean governance.

Marine spatial planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

Ocean literacy and the connections between society and the sea.

Since 2011, I have been Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on over 30 funding awards with a total value of over £15m, including projects funded by:

Rogalla von BiebersteinaK, Fletcher S, et.al. 2017. Governance of areas beyondnational jurisdiction for biodiversity conservation and sustainable useInstitutional arrangements and cross-sectoral cooperation in the Western IndianOcean and South East Pacific. UNEP-WCMC.